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ryan_618

ryan_618

Senior Member
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
I have been informed today that I will need to appear in court for a lawsuit regarding on of my calls as an inspector.

A large resaraunt (don't ask me who, alright?) recently built a new restaraunt in my city. I required that, as per 210.8(b), all receptacle outlets in the kitchen be GFCI protected. They complied.

About a week ago one of them tripped. It happened to the receptacle that a fridge was plugged into and it was not caught until the next day. They are sueing the city I work for for the money they lost due to the food spoiling. TRUE STORY.
 
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Might something like a ceiling mounted twistlock avoid this kind of issue in the future?
 
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Actually Tony, it wouldn't. Kitchens in other than dwelling units require GFCI protection on 125 volt, single phase, 15 and 20 amp receptacles. Period. no exceptions.
 
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Ryan, I believe it.
Years ago a company that I worked for was sued by a large produce company because a high voltage termination failed and they were without power for hours. They claimed to have lost revenue on TONS of produce.
I actually think in this case, it was hit by lightning, there were no arrestors spec'd or installed, and there was a storm that night. But bottom line was there had been a problem with the termination and the boss said 'leave it and hope it holds up'.
We took the wrap on that one.
I think you have a better chance. I believe that you were correct in your call.
TY
 
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Hi Ryan ,
Bummer about the bad news, did not want to print on forum but how does the info. from 440.22 apply to this situaation ????
I know that the kitchen requires gfi protection but is there more that the contractor should have considered as far 440.22 ?

John, best of luck with all
 
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Now I am not an expert on refrigerators but one would think that in a big restaurant that an alarm system would be in place so when the temp inside the refig gets too high it would sound off to protect the produce; What would they do if the grid went down?
 
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"Just the facts mam." Was that Perry Mason? You enforced the code, the code requries GFCI for a kitchen. You might take the NFPA handbook with you.
 
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The obvious answer for the future is to put a small "closet" with a receptical in it in the kitchen near the reefer :D
 
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Would tell it as it is.You enforce codes not write them.Exsplain the reason for the code.If anyone should be getting sued it's NEC underwriters.Mention the bigger potential law suit had you not required it.
 
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Ryan
I would be surprised if this is the first lawsuit of this type. My advice, as I have myself been in court, is short answers to the question being asked. You are not there to teach code. 210.8(B)(3) requires GFCI protection in kitchens other than dwelling units. Since this kitchen is other than a dwelling unit, it requires GFCI receptacles. You may want to preface that with 90.1(A), (B), (C). Good luck and keep us informed.
Don't let it 'spoil' your day :D

Pierre
 
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Originally posted by pierre:
.
Don't let it 'spoil' your day :D
Click to expand...
:D LOL :D

Good luck Ryan, I can not imagine this will get to far, you enforced the code as adopted in your area, nuff said.

Bob
 
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years ago i had a call at 2:30 am from a major hospital supply company. power went out to one of their refrigerated warhouses. i got there in a timely fashion (3:15am:) and found the service was dead. the location of the site was in line with the airport - apparently as a plan's wheels were being lowered a big chunk of grease (the size of a softball) fell out of the wheelwell and hit the high voltage jack on the pole and knocked it into the "off" position - the fuse was not blown! it took the power company nearly four hours to reset the jack! one freezer had $18 million dollars worth of frozen drugs that was reaching the critical temperature requiring it to be disposed of! as the temperature increased-so did the number of management people-everyone of them with a cell phone-and everyone of them calling the power company's dispatcher with threats!!!! by morning we had twelve people looking up at the tripped jack on the pole. when the lineman showed up they started telling him about the situation and again threatening to sue the power company! he calmly explained to all of them "all service calls are answered in the order that they are recieved"! a generator was ordered the next day! the code is there to protect people, the code cannot "value" engineer each installation's situation. i just finished replacing an office tower's main switchgear located below ground (in florida) that flooded, due to a broken $.32 pvc fitting. cost of repairs $465,000.. they now had me install a water alert system that cost $439.00 and calls four different telephone numbers continuosly until someone answers and reports the problem... p.s. they also have a "high temperature" alarm feature. i would bring a brochere to court and give it to the resturant owner!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
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I agree with the GFCI requirement for commercial type kitchens,but what was code making panel 2 thinking about when they added the requirement and made no exception for refrigeration equipment.A single receptacle outlet, simliar to the requirements for a dwelling, used for refrigeration equipment and not required to be GFCI protected should have been added to the text of 210.8(B)3. To late now but in the next code cycle this should be changed. If I was the owner of a commercial kitchen I would be upset also at the loss of product,even though you did your job and enforced the code as written.
 
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The million $$$ Question is, was the Ref. defective to cause the GFI to trip?
or was the GFI defective causing it to trip?
 
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Ryan: You did not ask for advice, but I am going to offer it anyway.

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, allow yourself to be led into a false sense of security. The fact that you are RIGHT (which no one on this forum would contest, I believe) does not, by itself, mean that you will WIN!

All you need to do is to remember two things: (1) Not one single person in the courtroom (other than yourself) will understand the purpose, nature, or the language of the NEC, and (2) The sole mission of the opponent?s lawyers is to destroy your testimony. If they manage to destroy your reputation at the same time, they consider that a bonus. If they can get you tongue-tied, if you get bogged down in code citations, or if they can make you get red with anger, then you will lose. ?Truth? is not a player here. The only player is ?Trust.? Who can the judge (and jury, if applicable) trust? They can easily understand the plight of the opponent: power gone, food destroyed, someone is at fault. They cannot easily understand your side: code is for safety, not for operations or for profitability. Therefore, you will walk up to the plate with two strikes already recorded against you. Whether you strike out or get a hit will depend on the manner of your testimony, more so than the words you choose to speak.

My advice is that you call upon your employer to hire a professional engineer who has experience in serving as an ?expert witness.? Unless you yourself have served in this capacity many times in the past, then I submit that, for the purposes of a trial, you are a DIY?er! (Please don?t take this as an insult. I too am a DIY?er, when it comes to lawsuits.) This is a matter for the professional. But I specifically mean a person whose professional experience includes the courtroom environment. If you cannot speak with quiet confidence, and without emotion, without responding angrily to an affront to your professional integrity (a tactic that they very well might use), and using language suited to a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker, then you are the wrong person to speak on behalf of the city.

Good fortune to you and to your employer.
 
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Refering to the comment about refrigeration being on the GFCI. The Health departments require daily cleaning of these commercial kitchens and the refrigeration is on wheels, the help moves them to clean and also will use any available receptacle to plug into. That is why 'all' of the receptacles are required to be protected by GFCIs.
For the commercial kitchens we have wired, we are using GFCI breaker.
Pierre
 
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